The Once Loved
by SapphicArt
Summary: Amelie's escape had always been Lena. Her husband didn't love her, he hurt her, in more ways than one. She couldn't leave him for fear of her life so...she turned to Lena. She knew she could always count on her but...everything changed one morning. The morning Amelie disappeared. (TW for domestic abuse, between Gerard and Amelie. NOT Lena and Amelie.)


Ch1. ((Authors note- TW for domestic abuse mention/implied domestic violence))

Lena remembered the night she had met Amélie. They had danced and laughed, becoming quick friends. Gerard's wife. His beautiful, charming wife.

She had never expected to fall in love, never expected to want Amélie so badly, never expected to love so deeply.

But there she was. There she was, gently running her fingers down her bare back, curled up into her, holding her tight.

She let out a soft sihh, looking at Amélie's beautiful sleeping face, she was so peaceful when she slept, so calm next to her, it felt so right.

But Lena knew it was wrong. Even if she didn't like Gerard… even if she disagreed with him...this was...something else. Sleeping with his wife, falling in love with his wife. It just wasn't something she ever thought she would do. She just… couldn't help herself. Amélie was her best friend and she was head over heels in love, and she knew the other woman felt the same. She knew she shared her feelings, even if she didn't say anything. It was obvious. With the gentle way she touched her, the soft smile, coy looks.

She never looked at Gerard that way.

Lena drifted off eventually, her thoughts troubled, and her dreams even more so.

"Lena?" Amélie's voice cut through her sleep, she yawned, cuddling into the other woman, giving a sleepy- lopsided smile.

"Yes, luv?"

Amélie loved hearing that. She felt...so safe. So secure.

"I…" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sitting up slightly, her brows arched and her nose crinkled in the most adorable way. "I have to go. Before…" her voice trailed off, a glimmer of fear in her eyes, one so slight that Lena almost didn't notice.

"Before Gerard realizes…"

Lena nodded her head, letting out a soft sigh as she placed a tender kiss on Amélie's hand, nuzzling into it before letting go.

"I...I love you." She whispered, not for the first time.

Amélie bit her lip slightly, looking away. "You know how I feel…" she sighed, looking back at Lena. "I love you too...of course I do but...I just...I have to go, cherie."

Lena looked at her hands, it was worth a shot she supposed. She didn't know why Amélie wouldn't talk to her about what was wrong. She knew there was something going on, knew that there was something...not right happening.

At first...she hadn't questioned the bruises, but now she was starting to.

It made her furious, just thinking about it. About Gerard, hurting Amélie, _hitting_ Amélie. But she couldn't do anything, except throw out accusations, if Amélie didn't want to talk to her.

She watched the other get dressed, still sitting on the bed, a pout on her face. She would kill Gerard if he truly was hurting her. If she was right. She would hurt him right back.

Amélie gave Lena a kiss goodbye, grabbing her purse from the floor and walking out the door, looking hollow. Looking nothing like she looked when she was happy with Lena.

Lena got dressed herself after a while, needing to get ready for work. Ugh. Her skin crawled just thinking about it, she would have to see _him._

She truly hated him, hated him for everything. Everything he did or didn't do made Lena furious, just being near him was enough.

He was a sexist pig, not to mention a horrible agent, more concerned about what he would get out of helping people, than actually helping people. She thought he would make a better businessman, or lawyer, than an Overwatch Agent.

Lena arrived at the Overwatch base a little late, greeted by Mercy and Pharah (Angela and Fareeha), both chatting up a storm with each other, acting like they were still stuck in the honeymoon phase.

She gave them a short wave, her mind elsewhere, her mind on Amélie.

The day went like any other, nothing special happened, nothing that Lena noticed at least, by the time she was ready to go home, it wasn't only half way through the day...her friends were concerned, Angela asked if she was sick countless times, and in a way she was _love_ sick, but she couldn't exactly tell anyone that, or risk everything.

Lena pushed her apartment door open with a heavy sigh, ready to collapse into bed, ready to forget everything and just _relax_. Just sleep, and lose her troubles for the time being, only to find Amélie on her couch, curled up.

Her eyes were puffy and red, a dark bruise on her cheek bone, her face stained with streaks of runny mascara.

She got up, when she saw Lena, rushing into her arms, blubbering and sobbing, her grip on her deathly tight, as though scared for her life.

Lena's eyes widened, she held the other close, sitting her back down on the couch, and trying to calm her down, her mind and heart racing, anger and frustration and fear pulsing through her as she thought up what could've possibly happened, all things leading to Gerard.

"What did he do?" She asked, pulling away to look Amélie in the eyes, her eyes full of sadness and desperation.

"H-he kn-knows...I don't-don't know how, b-but he knows!" She managed to stammer out, between heavy sobs, her whole body shaking.

Lena let out a shaky breath, her jaw clenching and hot fiery anger rushing through her. She couldn't believe he would stoop so low, she couldn't believe he had the audacity to do this to Amélie…

Lena pushed Amélie's dark hair away from her face, shushing her gently, "It's going to be ok, ok? You're going to stay here tonight."

She turned away, but Lena gently cupped her cheeks, making her look at her, "Hey, you're going to be safe, we're going to be safe together. Ok?"

Amélie nodded slowly after a minute, her bottom lip still quivering, she absolutely a mess, but Gerard would be even more of a mess after Lena was done with him.

They stayed that way for a long time, not speaking, just holding each other, Amélie stopped shaking after a while, feeling safer in Lena's arms, wondering if they should call the police...wondering if they could even do anything, considering Gerard hadn't made any moves yet.

Eventually, Lena stood up, taking the other woman by the hand and leading her back into her room, so they wouldn't have to sleep on the couch.

"You sleep, love, I'll stay up and watch over you." she cooed.

Amélie nodded her head shakily, climbing into bed and underneath the covers, laying her head down on Lena's lap when she sat down.

It was hard to sleep, but eventually she was able to, knowing that Lena would be able to protect her.

Lena kept her promise, keeping careful watch over Amélie, it was hard to stay awake, but she managed, exactly where she was when Amélie fell asleep.

"...I'm sorry." Was the first thing out of her mouth when she awoke, she let out a sigh, "This...is something I never should've brought you into. This is my problem and...and I should be able to deal with it alone but…"

Lena shook her head, not allowing another word, "This is never something someone should deal with alone...what he's doing is...it's horrible, and…" she didn't have the words to express just how outraged she was, how much the injustice hurt her, she could hardly take it.

"I just want to keep you safe, anyway I can help, just tell me. He won't ever lay another hand on you."

Amélie began to get choked up, emotions she had long since tried to repress, tried to deal with alone...she wasn't sure what she had ever done to deserve Lena. Not sure how she could ever repay her.

Lena pulled the other woman close, holding her tight, whispering words of reassurance in her ear, gently rubbing her back as Amélie started to cry.

First it was silent, tears streaming down her face, her lower lip quivering like mad as she tried to keep the tears in, then the sobs started, shaking her whole body as Lena attempted to stabilize her, silently making a vow that Gerard, that anyone, would never ever harm her again. She loved her and...she would do whatever she could for her. She wouldn't fail her.

Amélie stayed curled up with Lena, until her sobs quieted down to hiccups, and her face and eyes were puffy and red.

She knew not to apologize again, trembling slightly in Lena's arms.

"...I'm going to get you a glass of water, I'll be right back." Lena cooed, gently pushing Amélie's bangs back and out of her face, behind her ears, and getting up.

The other woman's grip tightened on her slightly, but she let her go after a moment, nodding her head lamely.

Lena was back in the blink of an eye, with a cold bottle of water for Amélie.

Things went smoothly, for a while at least, Overwatch had been contacted by Lena, and Amélie was making herself comfortable, trying to calm down at least.

Gerard was nowhere to be found, and that worried both of them but...Lena figured she needed to take Amélie's mind off of it, so she didn't bring it up the whole day.

They laid in Lena's bed, when night fell, fingers interlocked, and bodies pressed together, so that there was no space between them.

Amélie fell asleep first, exhausted from everything that had been going on.

Lena slept soundly, past exhaustion at that point, she hadn't slept in a day, though she would've stayed up longer if the other needed it. She would've done anything to make her feel safe.

Lena awoke slowly, yawning and stretching, only to find Amélie gone, her spot still warm. Panic filled her stomach before she realized she was probably just making breakfast...there was no way Gerard alone could've gotten into her apartment without anyone hearing him.

Lena checked the kitchen, checked the living room, the bathroom, anywhere she could look.

Nothing.

She found absolutely nothing.

She began to sweat, shaking slightly, guilt and unease in the back of her head as she quickly called Amélie's phone, wondering if she had just up and left herself.

It rang, exactly where it was the night before, on the nightstand.


End file.
